Good Things with Bad Packaging
by BritishBornAmerican
Summary: After being shoved into the hands of a grandfather who didn't seem to care, Jean Kirschtein runs into a group of angry teens looking for a fight. A girl catches his eye, and they continue to run into each other. With help from his new friends, he may find love at last, but a few secrets surrounding him and his family may be uncovered.
1. Chapter 1

The thunder outside was loud and the lightening left the air smelling of ozone. Jean Kirschtein sat in one of the old chairs by the electronic fireplace. His grandpa had a pretty large house, despite being a bit of a recluse. His parents decided it was was better for him to be 'cultured' and move to London where his grandfather had been living. He knew they really just wanted to get rid of him though.

So far, it had been a week and there had only been one day without rain, but even then the clouds blocked a lot of the sunlight. It wasn't as if Germany was the Bahamas or anything, but the air itself seemed to be chilled here. Almost as if it was tired of the weather as well. A huge sigh escaped his lips. Sunday television here wasn't the least bit better. At the very least he was hoping for re-runs of an old reality show or something, anything really to distract him from the rain outside. Running a hand through his mop of dirty brown hair, he stretched his legs and stood up.

Pulling a phone out of his back pocket he saw an advertisement for a new restaurant in his emails.

"Well, I suppose going to see that won't be too terrible." _I need to find someone my age to talk_ _to._ He knew too much time with his own thoughts would only worsen the situation he was in. His parents practically shipped him off to a stranger with the way his grandpa had been treating him. It definitely didn't help that all his friends back home hadn't been responding to any of his attempts at contact. If he was going to be anywhere in public though, he would be better off finding friends _not_ in his pajamas. He pulled on a worn pair of jeans and a black and white striped shirt. After a moment of searching for his combat boots and his jacket, he threw them on, and shoved a beanie over his head.

"Grandpa!" He heard a grunt in reply from another room,"I'm going out to culture myself or whatever!" There was no reply this time, but he hadn't expected one. Both he and his grandfather agreed that his parents' excuse was a load of bull, but it still didn't get him a proper response. Instead of waiting, he shoved a day old muffin in his mouth, grabbed the jeep's keys and rushed through the door.

He used his GPS for directions. Wall Maria, it was called. Surprisingly it was in a pretty popular district of town, despite appearing to be a hipster joint. Jean rolled to a stop at a busy intersection, and pulled the cloth roof over the metal skeleton of a car, the trees no longer offering cover from the rain. Glancing out of where the drivers window should be, he saw a car of teenagers around his age. He mock saluted one of the guys who happened to glance in his direction, and accidentally caught the eye of a striking brunette in the seat next to him.

The guy flipped him the bird, and they sped off as soon as the light turned green. Pulling out he realized they were headed in the same direction, and let out a defeated sigh. _I sincerely hope they aren't all like that. I might just start a fight. _He thought. Of course friends were important, but you have to mix with the right sort of people. Smirking, he parked across the lot from them.

* * *

As soon as he walked in, he earned himself a few stares, but that was only natural. He must of been a sight, a few stray water droplets in his hair, and his earlier acquaintances had all turned to look as he entered, drawing attention towards him. He saw the pretty brunette girl looking at him curiously, and he shot her a smile. Hands in his pockets, he walked up to the counter and ordered a BLT. Taking a seat at one of the comfortable booths near the large group, he caught the girl's eye a few more times before he got his food.

The whispers coming from their table set him on edge, but he was more focused on whether or not the frequent glances in his direction meant anything. Slipping his beanie off, he raked a hand through his still-damp hair, and rubbed the back where it was shaved. _I probably need to get that cut shorter soon. Maybe I can find a place tomorrow._

While he was lost in thought, he didn't notice the guy who had flipped him the bird earlier nearing his table. As soon as he took a bite, a hand reached over and took the rest of it. Looking up, his gaze was met with a cocky smirk. The guy took a bite of Jean's sandwich and raised a brow, daring him to protest.

"You gonna pay me for that, bud?" Jean Leaned back, arms over the back of the booth and crossed his legs."Cause that's about seven dollars worth of sandwich you just stole." The guy, while looking a bit thrown off, quickly recovered from the unexpected response.

"You're the kid who moved into my neighborhood." A glint in his eye told Jean he wasn't up to anything good."I heard your grandpa killed someone or somethin'. That why he never leaves his house?"_Lucky for this guy, gramps and I aren't that close. I know kids who would beat his ass for that. _Jean chuckled and leaned over the table.

"I don't you, why don't you tell me smartass?" Grabbing the sandwich back, he took a big bite, and glanced at the people watching the exchange with piqued interest. Some glanced away, but a group of six or so kids continued looking. One of them, looked pretty tall, and had some muscle peeking out from under his T-shirt. He flicked a lock of brown hair out of his eyes and made a face that asked; need some help with this guy? Discretely, Jean signaled that, yes, help would be appreciated.

"I bet you're a killer too, aren't you? They say crazy runs in the family." Jean's attention snapped back to the stranger, he had hit a nerve. He stood up, and was about to slug the guy with a right hook, but the brown haired guy from earlier stepped in between them. The other kids gathered around behind him, one of the girls shoving her face with french fries, and watching eagerly. A guy with a shaved head smirked at him and whispered,

"Don't worry, this guy looks for trouble, but we got this. I'm Connie by the way."

"Jean. Thanks for the intervention." He nodded at Connie, and turned to look at the scene unfolding before him. The tall kid stood, arms crossed in front of the jerk, and he realized the guy was a bit of a pipsqueak.

"Looking for trouble again I see. How's that going for you Levi."The guy glared at him. Even looking up, he seemed pretty threatening. Sneering, he answered quickly.

"Fine I guess. This your boytoy or something Jaeger?" A quiet black haired girl tugged Jean's jacket sleeve and motioned out the door. Spinning on her heel, the red scarf she was wearing trailed behind her. The four others followed, leaving Jean and the Jaeger kid standing in front of Levi.

"Very funny, but no. I suggest you look somewhere else for someone to mess with though, you know I could beat you in a single moment Levi." With a straight face, he turned, and slapped Jean on the back before walking outside with the rest of his friends. Jean hurried after him, looking back to see the brunette from earlier hiding a smile. She caught him looking and turned away, blushing profusely.


	2. Chapter 2

He gave a strange look at the group in front of him. Why the heck did they help him, if there were rumors like that about his family?

"Because we felt like it." Scarf girl answered. He was startled at her answer. "You looked confused, I figured you wondered why we helped."

"Hah, that obvious, huh? Well aren't you scared?" He leaned back onto his car, "With rumors like those about me I'd be freaked." The Jaeger kid laughed a bit and stepped towards him.

"If you were a killer, I figure that kid would be dead meat already. I'm Eren by the way." He stated, extending his hand. Jean took it, and pumped his arm once.

"I'm Jean, grandson of the local murderer." That earned a chuckle from Connie and the blonde kid standing next to him. He caught him looking and hurried to speak up.

"I'm Armin! And uh, that's Mikasa," He gestured at scarf girl, " that's Sasha, shoving her face-per usual, and this is Marco." He looked at a tan freckled guy. Marco waved happily in his direction.

"Well now that we've all been introduced let me explain Levi." Eren started, "He's always looking for a fight, and he knows how to manipulate you. Don't let him get to you, it's what he's looking for."

"He deserves a good punch in the face though, either way." Mikasa spoke up. Jean was startled at her violent statement but the others didn't even seem slightly fazed.

"Mikasa, you know we all want to see him get what's coming but try not to scare people." Sasha mumbled between bites of a sandwhich. Where did that girl hide her food?

"So I guess you guys are the local heros?" He cocked a brow at them and heard muffled laughter from Marco.

"More like-" he stopped himself to keep from laughing and lower his voice, "'Not the hero Gotham wants, but the hero Gotham needs." Then he struck a super hero pose, nearly smacking Armin across the face. Armin ducked and laughed at Marco's acting skills.

"Yeah that seems about right. We help people when we can but it's not like anybody likes us better for it." Eren and Mikasa shook their heads in silent agreement, and Sasha mumbled a yes before putting her food away.

Jean chuckled a bit, and covered his mouth, "Not the hero Gotham wants, huh? Seems we'll get along just fine."


End file.
